


The Lost Princess

by queerwhohatesithere



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tangled (2010) Fusion, F/F, F/M, Lesbian Adora (She-Ra)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:26:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27883732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queerwhohatesithere/pseuds/queerwhohatesithere
Summary: Adora has been locked in a tower for her whole life, but on her eighteenth birthday, she decides to explore Bright Moon with Catra, a criminal who stole a magic sword. Adora feels a strange connection to the sword and discovers her true identity.This is a Tangled AU inspired by fanart by @koujaaku on Tumblr. It more or less follows the movie's storyline. This is my first fic (or first fic I've posted) so I hope it's at least mildly entertaining. Oh also this switches povs but it'll say like "Catra" or "Adora" at the top so y'know who's pov it is. Since idk how a03 really works I just posted it as like,,,, one huge chunk of a story so it doesn't have chapters or whatever.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Kudos: 14





	The Lost Princess

Adora

I pace around my room. On one hand, Mother Weaver never has to know I was gone. On the other hand, this is the woman who raised me. How could I do something to break her trust? What if she never trusts me again? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. She might be so mad that she would never speak to me again. I sit in the chair by my window and look out at the world. It looks so big, so full of promise and adventure. Besides, tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday. Perhaps Mother will allow me some freedom as a birthday present. It’s a long shot, but it's worth a try. What have I got to lose? In the meantime, I practice punching my punching bag. It makes me feel better, more in control. I wake up at 7am every morning for my daily workout, I do pushups and pullups on the bar in my room and then use the punching bag. After that, I run around all the rooms in the tower. I can’t help but think that it would be much easier to workout outside the tower. I wouldn’t go far, perhaps just to that grassy field right below, and Mother could even watch me from there. While I’m thinking about this, I decide to go out and ask if I can have a day out tomorrow.

“Absolutely not!”  
“But Mother, I feel like there’s something out there for me. Like it’s destiny.”  
Mother Weaver snorts. “Oh Adora, you are so young and naive sometimes. You and I both know you’re here for your protection,” She says, stroking my hair. “You are magical, and thus must be protected. I am only looking out for you.”  
“So what, I’m just supposed to stay up here forever? It’s been years.”  
“Yes! You will stay here, under my protection, where you will be safe. You will not leave this tower. Understood?”  
I try and hide my frustration. “Understood, but maybe if you came with me-”  
Mother Weaver’s voice grows aloof, detached. “Listen to me, Adora, because I don’t think it's sunk in to that pretty little head of yours. You are never leaving this tower. Ever!”  
My heart sinks. I know she means well, and that she’s doing this for my safety, but I had hoped that my isolation would end once I’m an adult. I’m strong enough to face the world now, why can’t she see that? There’s so much else I want to say but I can see nothing is going to get through to her.  
Then I have an idea. “Mother, at the very least could you get me a present. It is my birthday after all.”  
She sighs. “What do you want?”  
I pull out a piece of paper and write down as many things as possible.  
She raises an eyebrow. “You ask for a lot this year.”  
“You only turn eighteen once!”  
“You only turn every age once.”  
I scratch my head. “Huh. I didn’t think of that.”  
“It’ll take me at least three days to get all of this. Will you be okay on your own?”  
I snort and laugh. “Pfft, me? You know me. I’m fine, and I will most definitely stay out of trouble.”  
“I suppose that will be alright. I’ll head out tonight.”  
That was way easier than I thought. I guess she feels guilty that I can’t get my birthday wish.

I head to my room, still disappointed. I flop on my bed and groan. “Stupid Mother Weaver, stupid world for being too dangerous.”  
I have a vague idea of a plan, but I’m not sure if I have the guts to go through with it. Then again, I have three whole days to build up the courage. I don’t even know what I would do if I left. Where would I go? I don’t know anyone on the outside. I don’t even know what people do. Up here, I read, and cook and clean, do anything to try and stay busy. There’s too much time to fill. I usually end up working out, so I don’t just lie on my bed all day. Mother Weaver is usually here, but even when she is, she often doesn’t want to be disturbed. It leaves me by myself a lot, and as much as I hate to admit it, sometimes I feel so lonely I could scream. Sometimes, it just feels like too much, the weight of being alone with my thoughts. Other times, it feels like nothing at all, like there’s nothing inside of me but emptiness. Try as I may, I can’t run from that feeling. I would never dare tell Mother any of this, I wouldn’t want her to feel guilty for all she’s done. It’s all for the best. Mother always says that. So why do I feel just the tiniest bit of doubt?  
I sit by the window and look out at the world. “I wonder what’s even out there.”

Catra

I’ve been stealing small things for the most part. Food, or supplies to keep me going. Today however, I decide to aim for something more fun. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks, and today is the perfect time. I heard talk of Bright Moon throwing a massive party today, so everyone is sure to have their guard down. I crouch down on the roof of the castle, and use my claws to cut a hole in the roof, big enough for me to fit through. There it is, the beautiful sword of the long lost princess. It’s huge, with a golden handle and a blue stone in the middle. It has a shine to it, like it’s never been held before. It probably hasn’t. It’s heavily guarded, but that shouldn’t be a problem for me. I take a small rock out of my pocket and deftly throw it down the hallway so it bounces off the walls slightly.  
“What was that?” One of the guards asks, and two of them go to check it out.  
I waste no time and jump down on top of one of the guards, knocking him down. I kick the other guard in the face and while he pulls back in pain, I grab the sword. I grin at him, resisting the urge to say something cocky. I need to get out of there before the other guards come back. The guard doesn’t look alarmed and I’m slightly worried. I pull at the sword, but it doesn’t budge. I groan, I hadn’t considered that it might be stuck in place. I grab onto it with both hands and pull as hard as I can, and finally manage to get it to wiggle a bit. The guard charges and I flip him over with one hand and pull the sword out with the other. Then I scale a pillar and disappear out the roof, and poke my head back in to stick my tongue out at them.  
I laugh, “Suckers.”  
I hear them yelling below and take off. I run as fast as I can to the forest, and I look behind me to see them in hot pursuit. Swift Wind, the annoying horse of the lead guard is gaining traction on me. He lunges at me and grabs the collar of my shirt, but I pull away.  
“Nice try!” I smirk at his frustration.  
“I will catch you, mark my words!”  
“Haven’t you said that before? And oh look, you still haven’t.”  
“Filthy thief!”  
“Imbecile horse!”  
I scale a tree and jump from one to another, and tumble into a large looking bush to hide. To my suprise, there’s a thin wall of vines behind me, and I peer through to see a large tower. Good, I have somewhere to hide. I duck behind the vines as Swift Wind runs by.  
I sigh in relief and pull the sword out of my bag to examine it. It really is beautiful, and I’m sure it's worth a lot of money.  
I use my claws to scale the tower. From the looks of it, it's abandoned.  
I slide in the window and sit on the floor. It’s kinda nice here.  
“Stay where you are!” A voice yells.  
Of course I’d have to pick the one abandoned tower that actually has someone in it.  
“Hey, I’m not looking for trouble.”  
A girl emerges from the darkness, with really long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She’s wearing a white dress and a red jacket, it’s a terrible outfit, but somehow she manages to pull it off. She’s holding a golden pitcher as a form of defense.  
I chuckle. “Is that supposed to scare me?”  
She hits me on the head with it, hard. Stunned, I fall to the ground. What is with her? I’m about to complain, but she clobbers me on the head with it about ten times before I finally pass out.  
When I come to, I’m tied up in a chair by… is this her hair? She holds the pitcher up to my face.  
“Who are you and what do you want?”  
I flash a winning smile. “Calm down Blondie. I was just looking for a place to rest, is all.”  
“I know you’re lying.”  
“I am doing no such thing. Wait a second, where’s my-”  
She holds my bag in the air. “You mean this?” She pulls out the sword and to my amazement, as soon as she touches it something weird happens. She starts to glow, and she looks frightened and drops the sword with a cry.  
“What are you playing at?”  
“I’m as confused as you are.”  
She uses the fabric of the bag to nestle the sword back in. She seems skeptical.  
“You just happened to scale a tower in the middle of nowhere with a magic sword?”  
“Yeah that about sums it up.”

Adora

Mother Weaver always said humans would be scary. Although this girl doesn’t seem to be entirely human, she also looks like a cat. But who am I to judge, maybe that’s normal out there. And Mother always said they would have sharp, scary teeth, and although her teeth look rather sharp, when she smiles she looks almost trustworthy. Friendly at the least. She’s cute, and I find myself staring at her, until I realize I don’t know the stranger’s name. I ask.  
“It’s Catra. Catra Ryder.”  
I extend a hand. “I’m Adora.”  
She looks up at me and says, “Uh, handshakes are nice and all, but you kinda need,” she nods to her tied up hands. “A free hand for that.”  
“Oh! I’m sorry.” I move to untie her and then hesitate. “Before I do that, we’re going to make a deal.”  
“Oh, great. I love making deals with crazy long-haired strangers who beat me up with pitchers.” She shakes her head, fluffing her hair out. “I didn’t want to do this, but you leave me no choice.”  
I have no idea what she’s talking about.  
“Hey, Adora,” she says sensually, and it sends a shiver down my spine, but I do my best to ignore her.  
She looks offended. “Damn, really nothing? That usually works.”  
“You’re going to take me to Bright Moon.”  
“You’ve never been?”  
“No. But today I will. In return, I will give you back this precious sword of yours. Wait a second, maybe I should hide it. Hold on.”  
I knock her on the head again and stuff the sword in my room. I shake her awake.  
“Alright, now let's strike a deal. Are you in?”  
“Do I have a choice?”  
“Not really.”  
She hesitates. “Fine. We will go out, for one day, and then it’s straight back here and you give me the sword.”  
“Deal.”  
I untie her.  
“So, I have made the decision to trust you.”  
“A horrible decision really.”  
“Don’t make me regret it.”  
“No promises!”  
She stretches. “Just how long is your hair anyways?”  
“I don’t know. Long.”  
“How come you don’t cut it?”  
My eyes widen at the thought. “Do you really not know?”  
She shrugs. “Enlighten me.”  
“I have magic hair.”  
She laughs. “Sure you do, Blondie.”  
“I mean it!” I start singing and my hair starts to glow. Catra seems caught off guard.  
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re really weird?”  
I grin. “You’d be the first.”  
As we move to leave the tower, I freeze. Catra comes over and looks at me, her eyes soft.  
“Hey, are you alright?”  
I take a deep breath. “I’m fine. Let’s go.”  
I slide down the tower using my hair, Catra climbs down using her claws. I’m filled with anxiety and wonder if I’m making a bad choice. It’s not too late to change my mind.  
I pause right before my bare feet hit the grass. Grass. Real, live grass. What does that even feel like?  
I close my eyes and touch the ground and it feels wonderful, there’s a little bit of leftover morning dew on it and I let out a loud whoop and run through the woods. Catra follows me, looking amused.  
But I don’t care. There’s trees! There’s a small brook, there’s animals, there’s life, and it’s so much more beautiful than I could have imagined.  
“I did it! I left the tower!”  
I’m struck with a pang of horror with what I’ve done. Oh god, I left the tower. I’ve dreamed about this, but never in a million years did I think I’d actually leave. I feel faint.  
“Mother is going to kill me.”  
Catra smirks. “You call your mom “mother”?  
Confused, I ask, “Well, what else would I call her?”  
“Mom maybe. I don’t know. Something less pretentious”  
“Why, what do you call your mom?”  
She shifts around awkwardly. “I don’t have parents. Or I did, but now I-” Her voice trails off. “Don’t.”  
I feel incredibly stupid, and give her an awakard pat on the back.  
“Oh, I’m sorry.”  
“It’s alright, you didn’t know.”  
I change the subject. “What is Bright Moon like anyways?”  
“I don’t go into town often but they seem to always be throwing some sort of party. They’re also always happy, like always. It’s kinda creepy honestly.”  
“A what now?”  
“A party.” She stares at me in surprise. “Do you seriously not know what a party is?”  
I shake my head. “Sounds fun.” The horror I was feeling before ebbs away and is replaced with excitement. Maybe it was a good thing that I left after all! Besides, Mother Weaver never has to know.  
“I’ll take you afterwards.”  
“After what?”  
“This.” She pulls me into a small restaurant called, “The Ugly Duckling.”  
“Awh ducklings are cute!” I say. “I bet this place is too.”  
We step inside and my jaw drops. This place is full of huge, muscly people who all look like they could snap my neck in two. I look at my own muscles, which pale in comparison.  
The strongest person is purple with white hair pulled into a ponytail, and she’s wearing a brown leathery outfit. She looks so cool, so I go over to introduce myself. She’s in the middle of an arm wrestling fight, which she wins easily.  
Catra is making some weird hand gesture at me, probably encouraging me to talk to her. I smile and give her a thumbs up and she faceplants.  
“Hi! I’m Adora!” I say, a bit louder than I intended, as everyone stops to stare at me.  
The strong person ignores me. I clear my throat and try again. “Uh maybe you didn’t hear me?”  
“I heard you just fine. But around here, the only people worthy of my time are people who can beat me in an arm wrestle. You want to try your hand at that?”  
I look back over at Catra who looks distressed. She mouths something that I can’t make out.  
“Yes! I’m strong.” At least, I hope I’m strong enough.  
We set our elbows on the table, and another person tells us to start. Right away, this is harder than I anticipated, and it’s taking all my strength just to push back against her hand, not even to push it all the way down.  
She looks impressed. “You are stronger than you look.”  
Encouraged, I push back harder, feeling a surge of energy, and by some miracle manage to win.  
She extends a hand to me. “I’m Huntara.”  
“I’m Adora!”  
“So you said. Are you new around here? You look lost.”  
“Yes, I am. New, that is, not lost. Because I have a guide!” I look for Catra, who is hiding under a table. What is she doing?  
“Catra!” I yell and Huntara balls up her fists.  
“Catra as in, Catra Ryder?”  
“That’s the one. Catra, why are you hiding?”  
“I’ll kill her!” Huntara yells, and pulls out a scary looking knife from her jacket and goes running at her.  
I did not expect that, nor did I expect everyone else to do the same. And I mean everyone, expect for the bartender, who rolls her eyes.  
“What’s up with them?”  
The bartender looks at me like I’m stupid. “That’s Catra Ryder. She’s kinda a huge pain, she stole my necklace one time, and it was like, a really nice one too. Everyone here hates her, including me.”  
“Oh. What’s your name?”  
“No one ever asks me that here, it's super annoying, because I’m clearly the best person here. I’m Mermista.”  
An overly excited pirate with a red bandana pops out of nowhere, and I jump, taken by surprise.  
“Don’t be afraid! I am Sea Hawk, dearest friend to Mermista and the owner of this fine establishment. Isn’t it wonderful? People come here after all sorts of adventures.”  
“I wasn’t scared,” I scoff. “And yeah, your restaurant is great.”  
“Why thank you! If you ask me, we serve the best food in all of Bright Moon!”  
“Ugh,” Mermista groans. “No one cares about your food, Sea Hawk.”  
I glance back over at Catra, who is cornered by an angry mob.  
“I should probably go help her. But it’s nice to meet you!”  
I run over to the mob and yell, “Stop!”  
They look at me for a brief second, and then back at her.  
“What did she even do that was so bad?”  
There’s an overlapping noise as everyone speaks at once. Wow. She’s really pissed off a lot of people. Can’t say I’m too surprised.  
“Listen, can you please leave her alone, just for today? She’s helping me explore town, and I’ve never been.”  
They seem unaffected.  
“And it’s kinda my birthday too. After today, you can go back to trying to kill her.”  
“Gee thanks Blondie.”  
I ignore her. “Please? It’s been my dream to see Bright Moon, for my entire life.”  
Huntara puts down her knife, and motions to the others, who begrudgingly do the same.  
“Fine. But only because I respect you. And happy birthday.”  
“Thank you,” I say with a smile.  
“Now get out of here before I change my mind.”  
We run out and I glare at Catra.  
“Why didn’t you tell me that everyone here hates you?”  
She shrugs. “Minor detail. Besides, it’s kinda common knowledge. You really don’t know anything, do you?”  
“Not really. Mother Weaver kept me in the tower my whole life.”  
“Sounds like a jerk.”  
“She is not! She’s just overprotective sometimes.”  
“Let’s just go into town. I’m pretty sure I heard about a party today.”  
“So people in town don’t want to kill you?”  
She smiles. “Oh they definitely do, but we’ll lay low. Besides, you look like you’ve never relaxed in your life. You could use some fun.”  
I follow her, deciding not to ask what relaxing is.

Catra

Unfortunately, we don’t make it far before some royal guard members, Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle spot me. They come running at me.  
Worse, another gang of outlaws I pickpocketed come running in the other direction. What, did they plan this?  
“Who are they? And I’m gonna take a wild guess here and assume that they don’t like you too.”  
“Truly an astute observation. And yes, let’s just assume that everyone here doesn’t like me. Now, we need to run!”  
We turn around and sprint as fast as we can, away from the angry soldiers.  
“How do you manage to annoy everyone?”  
“Guess it’s a talent of mine. Now c’mon, I know a way out of here. The best part is, none of those fools know about it.”  
We wind through the woods to a cave, and I run in.  
Adora hesitates, and I motion at her to follow me.  
“Hurry it up!”  
She follows, and sings the song that makes her hair glow.  
I decide to ignore the weirdness of this situation and keep going.  
“Are you sure this isn’t a dead end?”  
“I’m sure. Most people don’t know this, but this leads to a secret tunnel, right about here.”  
I brush away some dirt to reveal an old wooden door, and pull it open. It’s dark inside, but Adora’s hair glowing gives us just enough light to see in front of us.  
She seems relieved.  
“It’s incredibly creepy in here, but at least we’re safe.” She says.  
“What’s creepy is that the only part of you I can see right now is your hair. So you’re just a floating mass of hair.”  
“Would you prefer that I turn off our only power source?”  
“Nope! The hair is great! I love it.”  
We keep walking and then I hear the royal guard behind us.  
“I thought you said no one knows about this place.” Adora hisses.  
“Well I didn’t know they did!”  
We keep going and run straight into a giant stack of boulders, blocking the path.  
“Great. Just great! I never should have left that tower, and now I’m going to die.”  
“We are not going to die! Just shut up and let me think of something.”  
“Think faster!”  
“Okay I got it.”  
“What?”  
“All that’s under us is a bunch of dirt, so we can make a tunnel, under this and go beneath the boulders.”  
She just blinks at me.  
“What?” I ask defensively.  
“Catra, that’s a terrible idea.”  
I start digging beneath us, my claws help a lot.  
“Yeah I know it is Adora, but a bad idea is still an idea, and unless you come up with something quickly, we’re digging.”  
Adora takes a jab at the dirt and her hand starts to glow, and the dirt moves away on its own. There’s a bright flash of light, and then a fully formed tunnel.  
We run through it.  
“Okay, how the hell did you do that?’  
“I don’t know! Maybe it had something to do with the sword.”  
To my dismay, the end of the path leads to a giant lake.  
“No no no, why’d it have to be water! I hate water!”  
Adora grabs my hand.  
“Unless you have a better idea, we’re swimming. Now stop being a baby, and come on.”  
I reluctantly jump in with her, and she sings her magic song quickly to make her hair light up.  
We hold our breath and use her hair as a lantern, and swim as fast as we can.  
Thankfully the lake isn’t terribly big and we make it across and collapse on the land.  
I try to shake off as much water as possible but I’m still soaking wet. I shiver.  
We keep going, until we’re so deep into the woods that even I’ve lost track of where we are.  
I collapse on a nearby log.  
“If we haven’t lost them by now, I give up.”  
Adora sits next to me and her eyes widen.  
“You’re bleeding!”  
I hadn’t noticed.  
“Yeah, I guess I am. But it’s alright, it’s just a scratch, I probably got it from a sharp rock in the water.”  
She leans closer to me and I hold my breath.  
“Uh, Adora, what are you doing?”  
“Just trust me.”  
She wraps her hair around my leg and I squirm, it’s still soaked.  
Then she starts singing and her hair glows again, and my leg feels better. She unwraps her hair and I’m shocked to see that my leg is completely healed.  
“Whoa.”  
“Yeah.” She laughs. “It’s pretty cool.”  
I nod and shiver again.  
“We should build a fire.”  
“Oh, but I really want to see this party! If you’re cold, just take my jacket.”  
Adora takes off the dumb red jacket she’s been wearing this whole time and hands it to me.  
“That’s a sweet gesture, but your jacket is still wet too.”  
“Oh yeah. Maybe I can do that glowy thing again I did in the tunnel and dry it off.”  
She closes her eyes and to my surprise, manages to make the jacket dry again, and it’s warm now too.  
She wraps it around me and I inhale the scent of it, it smells like her, like freshly picked flowers with a hint of vanilla.  
She sits next to me, and I lean my head on her shoulder and let out a happy sigh.  
She stares at me.  
“Were you smelling my jacket?”  
I had forgotten she was right there.  
“What? No! Don’t be stupid.”  
“You totally were. What, do you think I smell good or something?” She asks with the most obnoxious grin.  
“I do not!” I say and my tail frizzes up.  
Her eyes get big and she goes, “That was so cute! Do it again!”  
“No!” I say, running my hand over my tail to smooth it out. “Stop being weird.”  
“Says you, jacket sniffer.”  
I groan. “Do you ever shut up?”  
She pauses and looks at me with a cocky look. I don’t like where this is going.  
“Make me.” She says, raising her eyebrows suggestively.  
I panic and just shove her, hard. Smooth, Catra. Smooth.  
She falls to the ground with an indignant, “Hey! That’s not what I meant!”  
I play innocent. “Then what did you mean?”  
She flushes and turns away. “Nothing.”  
I have to admit, hanging out with Adora is actually kind of fun. It’s nice to have someone to talk to. We head into town, and I was right, they’re throwing a huge party. There’s lots of banners hanging, and I look at one which reads, “Welcome Queen Angella.” She must be from a different Kingdom, because I’ve never heard of her.  
At least there’s no sight of anyone who hates me. The good thing about parties is there's so many people that it’s easier to blend in.  
I look over at Adora, who looks so filled with wonder it’s as if her eyes are actually sparkling. She looks pretty, all lit up with excitement.  
“Wow!” She runs to a vendor, who gives her a free flag with a star on it, Bright Moon’s symbol. “Thank you!”  
She waves the flag at me. “Isn’t it cute? Parties are great!”  
“Yeah it’s cool.”  
She runs over to a flower vendor, who smiles at her. There’s someone else standing nearby, she looks like a giant scorpion of sorts.  
The vendor uses some sort of magic and hands the scorpion a bouquet of daisies, and she blushes.  
Adora smiles. “Hi can I have some flowers please?”  
“Of course.” She uses the flower magic again to make sunflowers and Adora lights up. “They’re so pretty!”  
The vendor smiles. “Thank you. I’m Perfuma, and you are?”  
“Adora. This is my friend, Catra.”  
I wave. At least Perfuma doesn’t have any beef with me.  
The scorpion clears her throat. “Hi! I’m Scorpia. No one was talking to me but I felt kinda left out.”  
Perfuma apologizes. “I didn’t mean to be so rude, please forgive me.”  
“Oh, well it's no big deal really, people don’t really pay attention to me.”  
“That’s a shame, because you seem like a lovely person.”  
Scorpia blushes. “Thanks, you seem lovely too.”  
We walk away and leave them to talk.  
Adora spots a cupcake vendor and runs to get some.  
A little girl tugs at my jacket, and whispers, “Your girlfriend is so pretty!”  
“She’s not my- yeah, uh, she is isn’t she?” I say, with a laugh.  
Adora’s busy stuffing her face with cupcakes, when she sees us looking she gives a big energetic wave.  
I wave back. I have to say, I’m secretly pleased with the idea that Adora and I look like we’re dating, even if it's just to one kid. I’m grateful that Adora wasn’t in earshot though, she would have never let it go.  
Out of nowhere, a group of people start dancing. There’s a pink sparkly girl in the middle of it all, and a boy with a bow and arrow. I find it funny that he brought that to a party.  
Adora joins the dance immediately and extends a hand to me.  
“Oh, no thank you. I don’t dance.”  
Adora grabs my hand and pulls me in.  
“You do now.”  
I protest as she twirls me around and then give in. It’s actually kind of fun, and she pulls me close to her and I feel a little dizzy. Our hands interlock, and we sway in perfect time with each other. Her eyes are lit up again, and my brain stops working realizing how close we are to each other.  
Adora’s eyes flicker over to some of the others dancing, some of them dip their partners or lift them in the air.  
Before I know what’s happening, she pulls me into a dip and I stop breathing entirely. Our faces are so close they’re almost touching. I find myself wishing there was no space between us, that I could always be this close to her, or closer. My tail twitches, and she smirks as she leans me back up. I feel my heart flutter and I wonder if she’s feeling anywhere close to the same thing.  
“I told you this would be fun!”  
“Okay, you were right. This is fun.”  
We dance for quite a while, although it leaves us both tired afterwards. We sit at a little table and order water.  
“I don’t think I ever thanked you.” She says.  
“For what?”  
She gestures around her. “This. All of this. It’s wonderful.”  
She looks so happy I can’t help but smile. “It’s nothing, really.”  
“It’s everything. The outside world is so full of life.”  
“Can I ask you something?”  
She nods.  
“Why didn’t you ever leave before this?”  
She hesitates. “I guess I was scared. What if Mother Weaver was right? What if I really am too young and naive to know what’s best for me? She’s protecting me from something, but I’m not sure what because everyone here seems so nice.”  
“It seems to me that she was just protecting herself.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“You have magic hair, right?”  
“Yes.”  
“What exactly does it do?”  
“It heals people, and keeps them young. I just have to sing a special song for it to work.”  
“Did you ever think that maybe she just kept you locked up so she wouldn’t lose you or your magic?”  
Adora turns pale, and fidgets with her hands. “Don’t say that. She wouldn’t.”  
I can see it’s upsetting her so I say, “I’m sorry I brought it up. Why don’t we explore some more vendors?”  
She smiles and takes a free drink sample.  
The vendor asks if she’s eighteen and she tells them she is, and then downs it in one gulp. She goes for another and I stop her.  
“Slow down there!”  
She just blinks at me. “What?”  
“You know that’s alcohol, right?”  
“What’s that?”  
I had forgotten that she really doesn’t know anything. “It’s a really strong drink. That’s why they asked your age, you have to be eighteen to drink.”  
“Oh,” she says, downing another. “Well it doesn’t really seem all that strong to me.”  
Approximately ten minutes later she’s giggling and running around.  
“Look Catra, I found a horse.”  
“Good for you,” I say and then look up and see that it isn’t any ordinary horse, but Swift Wind.  
I back away, hoping he hadn’t noticed. No such luck.  
“At long last I have captured my enemy!”  
Adora hiccups. “Enemy? That’s my bestest friend!”  
Swift Wind looks indignant. “She’s a criminal!”  
“You’re a criminal,” she says and bursts into laughter.  
“Either way, you’re under arrest.”  
Adora blocks him. “Don’t touch my friend. That’s mean. You’re a meanie.”  
Swift Wind looks offended. “I am not! I am doing my job!”  
“Meanie!”  
“Am not!”  
“Both of you shut up. Swift Wind, I promised Adora I’d show her all of Bright Moon today. I can’t do that if I’m in jail. So do you think you could take a break from pursuing me just for today?”  
“Fine. But after that, I will capture you!”  
“Sure you will.”  
Adora leans on my shoulder and I walk her to a table and give her some water.  
“Drink this.”  
She does and smiles at me. “You’re taking care of me.”  
“Shut up! It’s just because you’re so pathetic.”  
She shakes her head. “You like me! You think I’m cool.”  
“Idiot.”  
She looks up at me and brushes some of my hair behind my ear, I find myself blushing a little.  
“What are you doing?”  
“You’re pretty.” She says and for a second, my heart stops until I remember that she’s incredibly drunk and doesn’t mean anything she’s saying.  
“Whatever you say.”  
Adora starts wandering into the woods.  
“I just remembered that I have to move the sword. I’ll be right back.”  
“Adora wait!”  
She’s already gone and I sigh. I’ll give her fifteen minutes and then I’ll go see if she’s alright.  
Adora comes back looking surprisingly normal.  
“I think the magic sword just made me sober.”  
“Thank god. I don’t know how much more of your stupidity I could take.”

Adora 

Catra looks embarrassed and I wonder if I made her uncomfortable.  
“Maybe you’ll stop saying such stupid things now.” She jokes.  
I’m sure she’s right but I can’t think of anything particularly stupid I said.  
“What did I say?”  
She touches the spot of her hair that I tucked behind her ear and turns pink.  
“Nothing. You called me pretty but just because you were wasted.”  
I take a deep inhale. Pretty doesn’t even begin to describe it. She’s absolutely breathtaking, and I want to tell her that, but it’s too much, too fast, and she probably doesn’t feel the same. I muster up my courage, and say, “That wasn’t because of that. You are pretty.”  
She flushes again and flicks her tail. She seems to be at a loss for words.  
I grin. “Now’s the part when you tell me you think I’m pretty too.”  
“Shut up! And yeah okay, whatever you are. Sometimes.”  
I feel a flood of excitement. She thinks I’m pretty!  
“I’ll take it.”  
A sparkly pink haired girl and a boy with arrows make their way over to us.  
“Just checking, these two don’t want you dead, do they?”  
“I haven't even met them so no.”  
“Hi!” The pink haired girl says. “I’m Glimmer. And this is Bow. You guys are like the only people our age here so I figured I’d introduce myself.”  
I wave. “I’m Adora. This is Catra.”  
Bow squints at her. “You look familiar.”  
Catra shrugs. “Can't think of why. Maybe we’ve met before.”  
Glimmer spots a wanted poster in the corner of a nearby vendor and pulls it off.  
“No, I think it’s because of this.”  
“Darn.” Catra says. “They never do get my ears right.”  
I laugh and Glimmer looks annoyed.  
“Hey, I’m not even wanted in your kingdom, so you can’t touch me.”  
“Fine. Just don’t steal anything from me.”  
“Wouldn't dream of it Sparkles.”  
We walk around and I stop at a large mural.  
“Who’s that?”  
“You haven’t heard of her? That’s the long lost princess.” Bow looks at me carefully. “She kinda looks like you.”  
I look at the mural. She does have an uncanny resemblance to me.  
“I’m not a princess though. It must be some sort of coincidence.”  
“Yeah, probably.”  
I walk out to the water, which looks beautiful. The sun is starting to go down and the reflection in the water is breathtaking.

Glimmer

The party is a blast, and it almost distracts me from the fact that Bow and I are supposed to be helping look for the sword. Bow’s been reading up on it, and it seems that the sword is supposed to belong to the lost princess. But no one even knows if the lost princess is real, or just a fairytale.  
Bow sits next to me.  
“Thinking about that sword again?”  
“You know me too well. It’s just, I hope we’d at least have a lead by now. But no one will tell us anything! Not even who stole it.”  
“I think I have a pretty good idea as to who did.”  
I follow his gaze to Catra. “Probably. But we have no proof, and it’s not like she would tell us if we asked her.”  
“Yeah, you’re right.”  
I puff up my chest a little. “Always am.”  
“Hey, I think I remember lots of times where you certainly weren’t right!”  
“Really? Because I can’t think of any.”  
Bow groans. “You’re insufferable.”  
“But you love me!”  
He wraps an arm around me. “I do.”  
“What do you think about the lost princess? Think she has anything to do with the sword?”  
“I have a feeling she does. C’mon, let’s go read up on her more.”  
Normally I would protest leaving a party, and say we should put off the research. But I’m itching to know more about this princess.  
Bow flips through the pages of an antiquated book and gasps.  
“What is it?”  
“Apparently she’s real! Not only that but she’s probably still alive, it says here that she’s Queen Mary’s lost daughter.”  
“Of course! The queen never speaks about her daughter, and I had always thought the princess was a fairytale, but it turns out she’s just been kidnapped.”  
“Exactly. If only we knew more about this princess, I feel like she’s the key to unlocking this.”  
I think we’ve done enough digging for today, and I have the nagging feeling that we aren’t going to figure this out anytime soon. Maybe we just have to wait and watch it play out. The lost princess could be anywhere, even at this very party!  
“Why don’t we head back out? We could go on a boat ride and talk it out more.”  
“That sounds fun.”  
I grab Bow’s hand and teleport over to the dock.  
We start paddling out to the center of the lake, and I sigh.  
“I wish I could use magic to do this.”  
“I think it’s kinda fun. Plus, I’m sure the sunset will be beautiful from here.”  
“True. It’s really beautiful here in Bright Moon. Too bad we’re only here for a week.”  
“You never know. Your mom is trying to start an alliance with Queen Mary after all. Maybe we’ll end up staying longer.”  
“That would be nice. And we could get to know Catra and Adora better!”

Adora

“Hey,” I say, elbowing Catra. “There’s boats here. Want to go out?”  
“Oh no. Did you forget? I hate water.”  
“So stay in the boat! C’mon, it’ll be fun.”  
I point to Bow and Glimmer who are already getting in a boat of their own. I think I saw Scorpia and Perfuma out on the water too.  
“Nope. Besides, everyone in those boats looks like a couple. Maybe it’s just a romantic thing.”  
“Oh. Yeah.” I say, trying to look as sad as possible. “It’s just, I’ve never been in a boat before, and this might be my only chance, and it is my birthday after all.”  
Catra groans. “If I say yes, will you shut up?”  
“Yes.”  
“Fine.” She climbs in gingerly. “But you better not tip the boat.”  
“I won’t. Pinky swear.”  
We paddle out the middle of the lake and I was right to convince Catra, it’s so peaceful out here.  
I fumble for her pouch and hand it to her.  
“Here. You did your side of the deal, now it’s time for me to do mine.”  
She tosses it to the side like it’s nothing. “It doesn't matter anymore.”  
I don’t ask what that means, but we keep paddling and I gaze out at the open lake.  
I glance at her to see if she’s enjoying it too but she’s not looking at the water, she’s looking at me. It makes me a little nervous, although I’m not sure why.  
“Why are you looking at me like that?”  
“Am I not allowed to look at you?”  
“No you are, just you look like, I don’t know, like you like me or something.”  
She takes a deep breath. “Maybe I do.”  
“No, I mean like you like me like me.”  
She laughs. “Idiot. Maybe I do.”  
She stares at me and I stare back and we just sit there for a while until I go,  
“Oh!” as it finally hits me. She likes me?  
“God, you’re stupid.”  
“I like you too.”  
She leans forward and I find myself leaning forward too, and oh my god, are we going to kiss?  
But Catra pulls back, looking startled.  
“Is everything alright?”  
“It’s fine. There’s just something I need to take care of first.”  
We paddle the boat back to shore.  
She gets out quickly with her bag. I feel a momentary panic, wondering if she’s running off. But that can’t be true. She wouldn’t.  
“I’ll be right back.”

Catra

I can’t believe I told her that. Am I stupid? I’ve only known her one day and what, I like her now? And here I am, about to give this sword up for her.  
I make my way to the edge of the forest, where one of Hordak’s soldiers is waiting.  
“Do you have the sword?”  
I nod. “Take it.”  
He examines it and seems satisfied.  
“Here’s your cut.”  
I push his hand away. “I don’t want it.”  
He shrugs. “More for me.”

I turn around and head for the boat when someone jumps on me, knocking me down.  
“What the hell?”  
I look up and realize it’s Lonnie.  
“Ugh it’s you.”  
“Good to see you too Catra.”  
Rogelio and Kyle emerge as well and pin my arms as Lonnie cuffs me.  
“Catra Ryder, you’re under arrest for thievery from the queen.”  
“You don’t understand, please.”  
Lonnie scoffs. “I think I do understand. You’ve been a petty thief for years, and today you decided to go after something bigger. This has serious consequences.”  
“Please, at least let me go say goodbye. There’s someone waiting in that boat for me and I can’t just disappear on her.”  
“You think I’m that stupid? You’ll just run off like you always do. You’re going to jail, now.”  
Lonnie shoves me into a boat with her, and Kyle and Rogelio take their own.  
I’m thankful for the darkness so that Lonnie can’t see me crying. I should have known today was too good to be true. But the worst part of it all is Adora is going to think I left her, and that breaks me.  
I don’t say anything when we get to the castle, I don’t even say anything when Swift Wind taunts me, or when we walk past the cells and several criminals jeer at me. Lonnie shoves me into a cell and I curl up in the corner and cry.  
I know this is what I deserve, there’s no doubt about that. I was stupid enough to try and steal from the queen. The punishment for that is death. I pick at my skin with my claws. So this is it. At least I got to have one nice day before it all ends. I close my eyes and smile at the memories. I promise myself that if by some miracle I make it out of this, I’m going to break Adora out of that tower, even if that means fighting that awful mother of hers. I have a feeling she’s going to be very mad Adora left. I just hope she’ll be okay. 

Adora

I stand by the boat awkwardly fidgeting. Catra said she would be back soon but it's been half an hour and she’s nowhere in sight, and it's getting really dark out.  
“Catra!” I cry, and to my relief, a figure emerges from the woods.  
“Catra! Oh my god, I was beginning to think you weren’t coming back.”  
I rush forward to hug her but instead am met by...Mother Weaver?  
“Mother?” I’m filled with confusion. “What are you doing here?”  
“Adora, darling, I was so worried about you being by yourself that I came back to check on you, And imagine my surprise when I found out you’d gone, and with that filthy criminal no less.”  
“She’s not-”  
“It’s alright now. You’ll never see her again, I made sure of that.”  
My eyes go wide and I pull away from her. “What have you done?”  
“I merely alerted the officials as to where she is. They’re the ones who took her.”  
I know Catra is in trouble but I feel a bit of relief. She didn’t leave me, or at least, not willingly.  
“What’s going to happen to her?”  
“Don’t think on it, all that matters is that we’re going home now.”  
I stop and look at her angrily. “Tell me what is going to happen to her.”  
“The punishment for crimes against the queen is death.”  
“No. No that can’t be right, that can’t be true.”  
“I would never lie to you.”  
It all comes back in a flash, but suddenly I’m remembering how when I picked up the sword, there was a flash of light, how all of a sudden I looked different, I felt different. How Bow said I looked just like the missing princess. Why Mother Weaver was so insistent I never leave. And it all clicks into place.  
“I’m the missing princess, aren’t I?” I ask softly.  
“You must speak up, I couldn’t hear a word you said.”  
“I’m the missing princess!” I yell, and I can tell from the shock on her face that it's true.  
“How did you- Where did you come up with such a ridiculous idea? Come on, we are going home now.”  
“I am not going home with you. You kidnapped me. You lied to me, you’ve been lying to me my whole life,” I say, tears streaming down my face. “And I bet you know where the sword is too.”  
“I know no such thing.”  
“Tell me!” I cry, and punch the nearest tree, surprised that it leaves quite a dent.  
“Tell me now or the next thing I punch will be your face.”  
“It is with the Horde kingdom. They plan to harness its power and invade.”  
Just when I thought she couldn’t get any worse, she just did. I know from my history books the atrocities of the Horde, and I knew they still existed to this day, but I hadn’t thought about the fact that they might be biding their time, waiting to invade.  
“You’re going to help me get that sword back. Now.”  
Mother Weaver looks at me, her eyes as cold as ice, and starts leading me through the woods.  
We find a small clearing, and she raps on the ground with a stick. A trapdoor pops up and we descend the stairs to find a musty room. Inside are some Horde soldiers, who look alarmed at first, but when they see Mother, or should I even call her that, they calm down.  
“It’s just you, Shadow Weaver. Welcome back.”  
Shadow Weaver. The woman I called my mother. The woman who I thought was looking out for me, all this time. I can’t believe she was right about me, I am naive. But at least now, after today, I never have to see her again.  
Shadow Weaver feeds them some bullshit about how she was directed to take the sword straight to Hordak. The soldiers comply, and hand over the sword.  
We head out of the bunker and then I take the sword and close my eyes and try to focus. The bright light returns, and before I know it, I’ve grown taller, and am wearing a white and gold outfit with a cape. I look like a princess. I am a princess, and I’m going to rescue Catra no matter what it takes. I forget about Shadow Weaver, I forget about everyone else and go running towards the castle as fast as I can.  
I barely notice people’s hushed whispers as I pass by, or how I’m running faster than I thought possible. I make it to the castle, and there’s no sign of Catra. She must be inside.  
I burst through the doors, and run past the queen, who I guess is my real mom. Nothing else matters except making sure Catra is safe.  
I check every cell, and finally find hers. She’s huddled up in a corner.  
“Catra!”  
“Adora!” She cries and runs to the cell door.  
“You’re really here.”  
“Of course I’m here. You didn’t think I would just let you die, did you?”  
Her silence indicates she did.  
I pull the door open with one hand and grab her with the other, pulling her into my embrace.  
She’s crying and I wipe away her tears gently.  
“It’s okay now. You’re okay now.”  
“Just leave me here.” She whispers. “It’s too late. You’re breaking out a wanted criminal. I don’t want you getting in trouble because of me.”  
“I don’t care about any of that. Besides, I’m the missing princess, and I’m pretty sure that they’re gonna be so happy to see me that they won’t care. Wait, what do you mean it's too late?”  
“Adora, Bright Moon is fairly advanced. Their executions are just them injecting you with poison. After that, there’s nothing anyone can do.”  
“No.” I feel my heart shatter into a million pieces, and tears stream down my face. “No that can’t be true. I’m the lost princess! I can save you, I have to.”  
I hold my sword up and close my eyes but my head blurs, and no flash of light comes.  
“Please.” I say, as if the sword can hear me. “Please I need to do this.”  
“Adora, just go. This is what I deserve.”  
I shake my head. “No, no you don’t! You deserve everything. You deserve a second chance. You deserve to live, I need you to live.”  
I hold her head in my hands and stroke her hair.  
“I can’t leave you.”  
Her breathing starts to get heavier, and she looks tired.  
She gives a weak smile. “It’s okay, Blondie.”  
She gives one last weak breath and then I feel all the warmth leave her body.  
“No,” I whisper, refusing to believe it. “”No, this isn’t how it’s supposed to end! It can’t, I won’t let it.”  
I pick up the sword, and rest the flat part of the blade on her head, and try to think healing thoughts.  
When I open my eyes, a large beam of light is coming from the sword, and Catra lights up golden. The light flickers a little and then fades, and I can feel that it worked. Her breathing becomes easier, I let out a sigh of relief.  
“I think it worked,” she whispers. “I feel a little stronger. Thank you.”  
She buries her head in my shoulder and I pick her up and we run out, I’m not sure where we’re going but I think we need to get out of here.  
The queen’s guard stops me at the door.  
I hold the sword in front of me.  
“The queen wishes to speak to you.”  
“I’m not letting Catra die.”  
“It does not involve her.”  
I set Catra down.  
“I’ll be right back, okay?”  
“Promise?”  
“I promise.”  
I enter the throne room and the queen asks me to come closer.  
“So it really is you,” she says softly. “My god, it's been so long.”  
I’m not sure what to say so I just bow. “Queen Mary, it’s an honor.”  
“Please, just call me Mary. I won’t ask you to call me mom, since you just met me. But maybe we can work up to that.”  
I give a small smile. “Mary, please pardon Catra Ryder. I know she stole from you, but as you can see I have the sword right here, and I can promise she won’t do anything like that again.”  
“Of course. She is pardoned, but only because I can see how much love you have for her, and I don’t wish to hurt you. I also wanted to inform you that we have taken Shadow Weaver as a prisoner.”  
“Thank you your majesty.”  
I turn to go, but she continues.  
“Please, Adora, I know we’ve only just met, but would you consider living in the castle with me? We have plenty of room and Catra is welcome to come as well. I’d like to make up for lost time.”  
“That sounds very nice, thank you. I’d be happy to move in.”  
Her eyes light up and I notice that they’re the same shade of blue as mine.  
I go back to Catra.  
“We’re moving in to the castle.”  
“We’re what now? Did you forget that they’re the ones who killed me?”  
“I got you pardoned, so long as you don’t steal from the queen again. Think you can do that?”  
She laughs. “Sure, Blondie. I can do that.”  
I pull her closer to me. “I’m pretty sure we were about to do something in that boat.”  
She flushes. “Like what?”  
“Like this,” I say, and I kiss her, and we sink deeper into it, my hands start roaming to her hair and my knees weaken. She moves one of her hands to my face, and strokes it gently. Then she pulls away, and I panic.  
“Was that bad? Should I not have done that?”  
She rolls her eyes. “No you idiot. I just, wow, um, do that again?”  
I grin, and kiss her, my stomach turning with nerves, and I never want to stop, but we’re interrupted by someone clearing their throat loudly.  
I pull away in surprise to see Glimmer and Bow.  
“Uh, how long have you two been there?”  
Bow can’t stop grinning and Glimmer goes, “Long enough. Anyways my mom just came to tell me that she likes it here, and since our kingdoms are forming an alliance and right next to each other anyways, we get to stay!”  
“That’s awesome!”  
“You too are so cute!” Bow says.  
“Shut up!” Catra says, covering her face with her hands. “I can’t believe you guys saw that. It’s so-”  
“Cute!” Bow is jumping up and down.  
“Catra and Adora, up in a tree…” Glimmer sings and Bow joins in.  
“I am going to kill you.”  
“K-I-S-S-I-N- ow!” Bow complains as Catra shoves him.  
I laugh. “I’m just glad we’re all together again.”  
“Best Friends Squad!” Bow says.  
“Yeah we’re not doing that,” Catra says.  
“I don’t know, I think it’s kinda cute.”  
“See! Adora likes it.”  
“I prefer the Glimmer Group.”  
Bow shoves her lightly. “We are not naming our group after you.”  
“Why not? I think it’s a great name.”  
We make our way to the window and look up at the stars. Once again, I’m looking out at the world from a window. But this time, I’m not alone. And as Catra comes and leans her head on me, I’m comforted by the fact that I’ll never be alone again.  
“What are you thinking about?” She asks.  
“I’m just glad I’m not alone anymore.”  
Bow grins. “To think, we’re friends with the lost princess!”  
“I don’t think she counts as lost anymore,” Glimmer says. “You’re home now.”  
“Yeah,” I say, stroking Catra’s hair as she purrs. “Home.”  
It feels good. I finally understand what I’ve been missing, and it was this. A sense of belonging. A place where I’m free to go where I want. For the first time, my life is my own.  
Catra seems to sense what I’m thinking. “What are you going to do with all this freedom, princess?”  
“It doesn’t matter, as long as with you, I’m happy.”  
“Don’t get all sappy on me Adora.”  
I kiss her on the cheek. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”  
I look up at the stars longingly, marveling at their beauty. I wish I could just lie under them. Then I remember, I can do that now. I can do whatever I want.  
I grab Catra’s hand and pull her outside.  
“Adora, what are you doing?”  
I lie down in the grass and look at the sky.  
“Isn’t it beautiful? I’ve always dreamed of doing this, falling asleep under the stars.”  
Catra snuggles into me and I wrap my arm around her, and there’s no place in the world I’d rather be.  
She yawns, and sleepily murmurs, “Love you,” before falling asleep. I’m not even sure if she’s aware of the fact she said it, but it makes me smile.  
“I love you too,” I whisper, and in that moment, I am completely at peace.

**Author's Note:**

> yeah so apparently the sword can cure drunkenness, bc if it can defeat horde prime that should be easy, right?  
> god pls ignore how fucking awkward the kiss scene is! i have never kissed anyone and i always write them like... and then they kissed and it was uh *sweats* good?  
> also yes ofc it takes adora a hot minute to realize that yes, catra does like her like her. she's a dummy but i love her so its ok <3  
> yeah them fucking tunneling out of the cave was a terrible idea but i couldn't think of anything else so its fine.  
> anyways this is mostly like soft catradora bc i am a hopeless romantic who just wants them to be happy  
> if u actually read this uh thanks bc i'm not expecting anyone except my friends to
> 
> oh also i finally added a rating i didn’t really understand the rating system before but i didn’t want it to give the NSFW warning when there’s nothing


End file.
